Author David Roberts’ descriptions of men trying to sleep in thin, wet sleeping bags in subzero temperatures — with only a canvas tent to protect them from the howling winds of Antarctica — go straight to a reader’s imagination to create a craving for a warm sweater and a steaming mug of coffee.

It is the harsh, remote continent that becomes the central player in his new book about the Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 1911-13, upstaging even the men who were a part of it.

Antarctica remains a cruel environment for humans today, but for the scientists, explorers and adventurers of the early 20th century — who faced the elements without airplanes, Gore-Tex and working radios — it was hellish.

And it is in hellish detail that Roberts documents the obstacles that must be overcome by the expedition on a daily basis: the cold and winds, the dangerous crevasses, the loneliness, the lack of food and the physical exertion required just to step into the elements.

Roberts’ story about the expedition and its leader, Australian geologist Sir Douglas Mawson, is a captivating tale of courage and resourcefulness against great odds that lives up to its subtitle, “The greatest survival story in the history of exploration.”

Mawson is at the heart of the story, not only as the expedition’s leader but its acclaimed hero.

After the death of his two companions while on a long exploration from the expedition’s main base camp, Mawson survived a 30-day solo trek of 100 miles over ice and snow back to camp, surviving falls into crevasses, a lack of food and very little shelter. At times, he was forced to crawl because of his frozen feet.

When Mawson and his expedition eventually returned to Australia, he was hailed for his exploits and knighted in 1914. His name is revered Down Under, and for years his face was featured on the nation’s $100 bill.

In the United States, however, he is largely unknown. Now Roberts — an acclaimed American mountaineer and author of many books about climbing, exploration and history — has offered a new look at the man for a new audience.

“Alone on the Ice” may not be for every reader. Mawson’s story of survival is the focus of the gripping opening chapter and another section later in the book. The rest of “Alone on the Ice” really has nothing to do with the “greatest survival story.” Roberts delves deeply into the history of Antarctic explorations, its famed leaders, personality squabbles, organizational challenges and archaic equipment.

What Roberts has done through meticulous research — using journals, letters and interviews — is re-create the fascinating story of men who were so driven to adventure and exploration that they would spend more than two years in a totally inhospitable environment cut off from their loved ones. To those of us so used to creature comforts and texting friends thousands of miles distant, their quest seems impossible to comprehend.

Perhaps one of the best sections of “Alone on the Ice” is the last, the book’s epilogue. This is no brief summary, but a 26-page follow-up to the expedition that’s as interesting as the time in Antarctica, covering the highlights of the rest of Mawson’s long life, the expedition’s scientific impact, the fates of key personalities and a 2007 re-enactment of Mawson’s survival trek.

It’s a testament to Roberts’ research and storytelling abilities that this epilogue is as absolutely necessary as a sweater to stave off the cold while reading “Alone on the Ice.” We must know more.

Roberts’ story of Mawson and Antarctica, after all, goes straight to the imagination — and stays there.